Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-28263

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how its forthcoming Natural Capital Market Framework will align with the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The Natural Capital Market Framework will seek to strengthen Scotland’s interim principles for ‘Responsible Investment in Natural Capital’. If passed by Scottish Parliament, the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will also help to realise many of these Interim Principles, especially those relevant to land use, community engagement and community benefit.

For example, the Bill includes provisions that would place legal responsibilities on the owners of large landholdings to set out how they use their land and how that contributes to key public policy priorities, like addressing climate change and protecting and restoring nature. The Bill will also ensure the owners of large landholdings will have to engage with local communities about how they use the land, and it will prohibit certain sales of over 1000 hectares, until Ministers can consider the impact on the local community.

Question reference: S6W-28262

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) UK Government ministers and (b) private companies regarding its forthcoming Natural Capital Market Framework.

Engagement on the Natural Capital Market Framework is taking place from March to September and is following Scottish Government’s approach to service design, using the expertise and insight from a diverse range of stakeholders to inform the development of the framework. This engagement has included UK Government officials leading their work on natural capital markets but there has been no direct engagement with UK Government Ministers. We have also engaged with a wide range of private businesses representing agricultural, land management, contractor and investment interests.

Question reference: S6W-28136

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any schools without an on-site school counsellor or a mental health practitioner.

The Scottish Government continues to provide £16 million per year to ensure that all secondary schools have access to school counselling services.

Local authorities have confirmed that all secondary schools in Scotland have access to counselling services. All school pupils aged 10 and above have access to the service.

It is up to local authorities to decide how to deliver the service in their area to best suit the needs of their children and young people.

School counselling is just one of a range of services that schools and authorities have in place to support the mental health of children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-28137

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether every school has access to on-site mental health services.

Question reference: S6W-28115

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26234 by Maree Todd on 15 April 2024, whether it can provide details of its work in implementing the recommendations relating to bereavement in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee's 1st Report, 2022 (Session 6), Inquiry into perinatal mental health (SP Paper 104), which was published on 8 February 2022.

The Scottish Government committed through the Programme for Government 2021-2022 and 2023–24 to improve miscarriage care, part of this work includes the provision of separate spaces in maternity wards in hospitals for those experiencing a pregnancy or baby loss.

We also funded Sands UK to develop and implement the National Bereavement Care Pathway for pregnancy and baby loss in Scotland (NBCP). All 14 NHS Boards are now signed up to the Pathways and implementation is ongoing with continued support from Sands.

The pathways acknowledge that bereavement care is the responsibility of all health professionals working in maternity services. While some NHS Boards have specialist bereavement midwives, all midwives, consultants and other workforce are trained in bereavement care. The maternity workforce, aim to have an informed, skilled team who are all able to provide the specialist care that bereaved parents need.

In addition to wider maternity bereavement supports, perinatal mental health services have a role in ensuring continuity, appropriate support, and signposting/transition for any parent who is within the perinatal period, is in receipt of perinatal mental health services and experiences bereavement.

Question reference: S6W-28116

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25831 by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2024, whether the development of specialist community perinatal mental health services includes provision for bereavement suites in maternity wards.

Provision for bereavement support within maternity wards is outside of the scope of specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services, which support women with complex mental health presentations.

The Scottish Government committed through the Programme for Government 2023 – 24 to improve miscarriage care. Part of this work includes the provision of separate spaces in maternity wards in hospitals for those experiencing a pregnancy or baby loss.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing services and support structures which facilitate good Perinatal and Infant mental health across Scotland, investing over £36 million since 2019. This includes funding for the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PIMH) third sector fund which has supported a range projects, including Held In Our Hearts which provide counselling and mental health support to parents and families who are pregnant after having experienced baby loss.

Question reference: S6W-28098

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what training packages are in place for Police Scotland in relation to environmental (a) legislation and (b) crime.

Scotland’s natural resources are vital to its economic success and the health and wellbeing of its citizens. The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to reduce the significant harms caused by environmental crime.

I understand that Police Scotland works closely with partner agencies such as Zero Waste Scotland, NatureScot and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for guidance and expert witness testimony in matters of environmental legislation and crime.

The training of officers and staff is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government supports the Chief Constable in having the flexibility to develop her workforce in a way that responds to the challenges she faces and this includes access to appropriate training.

Question reference: S6W-28118

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) ScotRail and (b) Scottish Water having a representative of (i) customers and (ii) employees on its company board.

The majority of non-executive appointments to the Boards of Non-Departmental Public Bodies are regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. This means that the process used to appoint Board members is governed by the 'Revised Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland’. Those which are not regulated, choose to adopt the same principles.

The entities advise Scottish Ministers on their Board’s membership needs, the ScotRail Board determines this themselves, with a focus on diverse boards comprised of members who possess the right skills, experience and knowledge. In addition to other relevant attributes, such as, integrity and commitment. STUC's General Secretary, Roz Foyer, is a non-executive Director on Scottish Rail Holdings’ Board, the parent company of ScotRail Ltd, is appointed to that role with the support of railway trade unions.

As set out in the Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, non-executive Board members appointed by Scottish Ministers are required to have knowledge and experience relevant to the functions of Scottish Water. In addition, one of the non-executive members must have special knowledge of the interests of the employees of Scottish Water.

Question reference: S6W-28117

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on colleges of the 4.8% reduction in revenue funding in its Budget for 2024-25, in light of the Scottish Funding Council figures that were issued on 30 May 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03638

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to end the reported disruption to students in further education, in light of the ongoing industrial dispute between College Employers Scotland and EIS-FELA over pay and conditions.